Clan Primary Image Mac Ian

Scottish Clans

MacIan Tartans & Clan

Johannes filius Gilbert filius Dovenaldi MacKane was the first record of the name MacIan, as a result of receiving a charter of lands from Robert I.

Clan Motto In hope I byde

Who Wears MacIan Tartan? - Associated Names

First of all to explain why there are so many tartans, way over 2000 in fact. There are an awful lot of Scottish clans to start with and on top of this each clan can have many different tartans and names associated with it.

  • MacAne
  • MacKane
  • MacKean
  • MacKain
  • MacCane
  • Macean
  • Cain
  • Kain

Shop MacIan Tartans & Clan From Curtains to Clothing, use the filters below to navigate through everything we offer in MacIan Tartans

MacianTartans

1 variations

Each tartan can have multiple variations, the most common of which are Ancient, Modern, Weathered, Hunting and Dress

About tartan variations

  • Ancient
  • Modern
  • Weathered
  • Hunting
  • Dress

Ancient Tartan

Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans, mossy greens and sky blues, a more orangey red and some would say showing off the pattern to much greater effect as as the contrasts are much brighter than the Modern tartans. The pattern or sett remains the same across all variations of a single tartan, and only the shades or tones vary.

Helpful Advice

Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.

Modern Tartan

Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans. Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.

Helpful Advice

The Modern tartans are often the more subtle combinations such as the classic Black Watch Modern

Weathered Tartan

Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer, more earthy colours typical of the Weathered tartans, reminiscent of bolder colours subjected to wind, rain and sunshine producing beautiful faded tones, olive greens and browns, and very light blues with reds that are more pink than red.

Helpful Advice

Some mills refer to the Weathered tartans as Muted.

Hunting Tartan

The Hunting Tartans are the camouflage tartans and some clans don't have these variations because they are already predominantly green or brown and don't need amendment to blend in with nature's colours. The Black Watch or Gunn tartans are examples of these, whereas a tartan such as the Fraser is predominantly red and would not provide much cover for men out hunting.

Helpful Advice

One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.

Dress Tartan

The Dress Tartans were designed as the name suggests for celebrations and highland dance. The sett or pattern of the tartan remains the same and the main colour is changed to white, or extra white is added to the pattern to give it a brighter, more "fancy" appearance. The Scots do like to bend the rules and occasionally instead of white thread, yellow is used and this is where the rather wild MacLeod Dress Modern and Barclay Dress Modern came from.

Helpful Advice

One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.

Clan Origin Primary Image Mac Ian

Dall’inizio

MacIan Clan Storia e Origini

Clan Origin History Image Mac Ian

Esplorare la storia di Clan MacIan

Come tutto è cominciato

Territories

The Hebrides Islands

Clan Chief

We are unsure who the Clan Chief of Clan MacIan is.

Cosa c'è nel nome MacIan?

MacIan comes from the given name Ian or John.

Clan Origin Location Image Mac Ian

Mingary Castle

Mingary Castle is the histroic seat of Clan MacIan (also referred to as MacIain of Ardnamurchan or the MacDonalds of Ardnamurchan) and is located just outside of Kilchoan. It is thoguht that Mingary Castle was built by Clan MacIan in either the 13th or 14th Century, as the exact date of construction is unknown. King James IV of Scotland claimed the castle from Clan MacIan both in 1493 and 1495 and used it as a stronghold to fight off Clan Donald. However, Clan MacDonald of Lochalsh besieged Mingary Castle in 1515 and again in 1517 until they took Castle as their own. The remaines of Mingary Castle are now considered as a Category A listed building and are therefore protected.

MacIan or MacDonald?

The MacIan's of Ardnamurchan are a sept of Clan MacDonald.

Clan Motto: In hope I byde


Explore More...